Former footballer goes from pigskin to pizza

Published: Monday, August 18, 2014 at 05:35 PM.

NAVARRE — Reggie Slack has always loved to cook, but Italian food was never his forte.

That changed during his time as quarterback in the Canadian Football League when his Italian neighbors would invite Slack and his girlfriend over for dinner.

Slack observed how his neighbors approached food, making every dinner an event and grew an appreciation for it.

Slack, who retired from football in 2003, took that appreciation and opened Reggie’s House of Pizza, located at 7289 Navarre Parkway, in April of this year.

“I really became intrigued with not only Italian cuisine, but food in general and how it gives you the opportunity to access that creative side that we all have,” Slack said.

Reggie’s House of Pizza specializes in New York-style thin crust pizza. The restaurant also offers Chicago-style deep dish pizza, strombolis, calzones, pastas, breadsticks, cheese bread and salads, among other items.

“Everything is made fresh here on site,” Slack said. “We make our own dough, we make our own sauce, we use the best cheese in the business and we don’t skimp on toppings. That’s what’s necessary to really build a loyal customer base and we plan on doing it as long as we’re here.”

The restaurant opened April 14 and Slack said business has increased about 10 percent each month since then. Reggie’s House of Pizza just started offering delivery within a five-mile radius of the restaurant.

Slack said the restaurant is in a great location to take advantage of future growth. A new 250-unit apartment complex to the east of the restaurant is under construction now and Slack has heard of a second apartment complex being planned across Navarre Parkway from the restaurant. Plus, it’s nearby Tiger Point, Holley by the Sea and the Harvest Village commercial complex.

Slack’s professional football career lasted more than 10 years. After being Auburn’s starting quarterback, he was drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1990. He stayed with the team for three years, but since he was Warren Moon’s backup, he didn’t receive much playing time.

He played with different teams in the CFL from 1993 to 2003, including taking the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the Grey Cup, the CFL equivalent to the Super Bowl.

Slack is still working on his sports room at Reggie’s House of Pizza, which features memorabilia from different teams. More will be added in the future.

Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.

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NAVARRE — Reggie Slack has always loved to cook, but Italian food was never his forte.

That changed during his time as quarterback in the Canadian Football League when his Italian neighbors would invite Slack and his girlfriend over for dinner.

Slack observed how his neighbors approached food, making every dinner an event and grew an appreciation for it.

Slack, who retired from football in 2003, took that appreciation and opened Reggie’s House of Pizza, located at 7289 Navarre Parkway, in April of this year.

“I really became intrigued with not only Italian cuisine, but food in general and how it gives you the opportunity to access that creative side that we all have,” Slack said.

Reggie’s House of Pizza specializes in New York-style thin crust pizza. The restaurant also offers Chicago-style deep dish pizza, strombolis, calzones, pastas, breadsticks, cheese bread and salads, among other items.

“Everything is made fresh here on site,” Slack said. “We make our own dough, we make our own sauce, we use the best cheese in the business and we don’t skimp on toppings. That’s what’s necessary to really build a loyal customer base and we plan on doing it as long as we’re here.”

The restaurant opened April 14 and Slack said business has increased about 10 percent each month since then. Reggie’s House of Pizza just started offering delivery within a five-mile radius of the restaurant.

Slack said the restaurant is in a great location to take advantage of future growth. A new 250-unit apartment complex to the east of the restaurant is under construction now and Slack has heard of a second apartment complex being planned across Navarre Parkway from the restaurant. Plus, it’s nearby Tiger Point, Holley by the Sea and the Harvest Village commercial complex.

Slack’s professional football career lasted more than 10 years. After being Auburn’s starting quarterback, he was drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1990. He stayed with the team for three years, but since he was Warren Moon’s backup, he didn’t receive much playing time.

He played with different teams in the CFL from 1993 to 2003, including taking the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the Grey Cup, the CFL equivalent to the Super Bowl.

Slack is still working on his sports room at Reggie’s House of Pizza, which features memorabilia from different teams. More will be added in the future.

Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.